Caldwell, Johnson named to St. Mary’s Board of Directors

St. Mary’s Health Care System is proud to announce the appointment of businessman Chris Caldwell and University of Georgia executive Ralph Johnson to the system’s Board of Directors.

At the same time, St. Mary’s expresses its deepest thanks to Charlie Upchurch, president of Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty, who has rotated off the Board after more than 12 years of service on a number of St. Mary’s volunteer boards, including serving as Chair of the System Board and Foundation Board, and holding leadership positions on the Highland Hills Village Board.

Mr. Caldwell has served as Vice President-Investments at Wells Fargo Advisors in Athens since 2004. Prior to that, he served as a Vice President with SunTrust Trust and Investment Co., in Athens. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the UGA Terry College of Business in international finance and marketing, and business administration, respectively. Mr. Caldwell is an adjunct professor at Piedmont College, a member of Athens Rotary Club and a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Church Advisory Councils. He has served on the St. Mary’s Highland Hills Board of Directors since 2010 and will serve as its Chair in 2014.

Mr. Johnson has served as Associate Vice President for Facilities Management at UGA since 2002. In this role, he is responsible for a staff of about 800 and has oversight of the university’s facility maintenance and operations, custodial services, utility functions and landscape and grounds. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and his master’s degree, also in electrical engineering, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A registered professional engineer, he holds a multidisciplinary certificate in energy engineering from Georgia Tech. Prior to coming to UGA, Mr. Johnson served as director of physical plant operations at Pennsylvania State University and, before that, served 24 years in the Navy as a Civil Engineer Corps officer.

“We are honored to welcome Chris and Ralph to St. Mary’s Board of Directors,” said President and CEO Don McKenna. “Both represent St. Mary’s Mission to be a transformative healing presence and will be invaluable liaisons to the communities we serve. Our all-volunteer board is vital to our system and the effectiveness of our healing ministry.”

McKenna also praised outgoing Board Chair Charlie Upchurch as his final term on the Board ends. During Upchurch’s tenure, St. Mary’s acquired St. Joseph’s Hospital at East Georgia in Greensboro and replaced it with the sate-of-the-art St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital, earned state permission to perform percutaneous coronary interventions (angioplasty and stent implantation), and earned numerous recognitions for quality, including four consecutive Gold Plus awards for stroke care and “Best 100” honors from HealthGrades and WomenCertified in areas such as stroke care, orthopedics and obstetrics.

“Charlie’s leadership abilities and commitment to St. Mary’s healing mission have helped our ministry make dramatic advances,” McKenna said. “We will miss his presence on our Board, but look forward to him continuing to be part of the St. Mary’s family for years to come.”